


Back to Square One (The Life of Gabriel Agreste)

by Alimator



Series: The Life of Gabriel Agreste [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Declarations Of Love, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-11-27 13:09:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 8,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20948861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alimator/pseuds/Alimator
Summary: Right back to square one.The wish took Gabe back in time and now he has go through all of this again.Bloody wishes!





	1. Chapter 1

He was slowly starting to hate the colour. 

White. 

On the walls, the ceiling. That is if there was an end to the void that he was stuck in. This time he ran. He needn’t repeat the same torture twice. It was best that he got to the kwamis before he decided that his ears and an arm weren’t really needed. Again the pain was torture, it was miserable, intolerable pain. It burned like fire, but he moved on, hoping that if he ran fast enough the flames would be blown away. 

“Tikki? Plagg?” 

His voice didn’t seem to echo or go anywhere, in particular, it just disappeared. It was eaten up by the space around him. 

“I know you’re here! Please, where are you?”

He could have been wrong, but he swore that the pain was much worse than what it was before. It travelled from his arm to his brain, causing him to reel. 

There. A black and red dot in the distance.

Struggling, he pushed himself up of the ground and forced his legs to move.

“It hurts, doesn’t it.”

Gabriel could barely nod at the kwami, every move he made sent a jolt of pain through him.

“Yeah, that’s what you get. Every time you make the wish the pain will just get worse old man,” Plagg paused, staring off into the blankness. He sighed, “And we’ll just get weaker.”

“This time it was different. I made the wish first. I’m supposed to make the wish now.”

“Yeah well, you got cocky. You’re just going to have to wait for the wish to make it’s mind up. Maybe it’ll show mercy on you.”

It felt like hours. Like before he wanted to rip his hand off at the socket, tear his ears out; stain the white walls of this place crimson. He wanted to, so badly, but he didn’t, he couldn’t. 

Tikki, bless the girl, felt sorry for Gabriel and flew over to him. She perched herself on his shoulder and leaned her tiny head on the crook of his neck.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied blandly.

“You are doing what’s right,” then she added, “I guess.”

“Hmm,” It was a half moan half grunt.

“You really love her, huh?”

“Hmm.”

The kwami looked at Gabriel. She didn’t really know what to make of him. He wasn’t like other human beans, he didn’t lust for power. He was confusing. He was cold, heartless even, but he loved his family like no other. He cared so much for those around him. But he was a broken man. He needed another human bean. He needed Nathalie.

His stomach felt odd. As though he was falling. He turned to kwami that was sat upon his shoulder and frowned.

Then and only then he fell.

##########

The kwami was sucked into the ring and a jet black suit encased Gabriel, his tie was the same black and he wore a thin green mask.

“Tiki spots... no!” He shouted. Nostalgia, that’s what he felt. Like all of this had happened before.

“Sir?” 

He snapped around at the sound of her voice. 

“Nathalie,” he whispered. He literally ran towards her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

“Gabriel?”


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriel held the crystal tumbler tightly, running his fingers through the intricate pattern that was etched into the surface. That sat in tense silence.

“So you’re from the… future?”

Gabriel fiddled with the lid of the decanter and poured more Dalmore scotch into his glass. He hadn’t the energy to speak, his mind was reeling, so he just nodded in response. 

“Okay,” Nathalie nodded back thoughtfully, clenching and unclenching her jaw, “How?”

There was a gruelling minute of silence before Gabriel answered. 

“I-I,” he didn’t know what to say, how to say it. The words were there in his head but they didn’t seem to float down to his mouth so he could verbalise them. Gabriel took a deep breath and trusted his mouth to move, “I brought Emilie back.”

Then there was more silence as Nathalie mulled over the four words he had just said.  
“And then?”

“We weren’t happy together.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah.”

“So, we worked for two years-”

“And in the end, I wasn’t happy? Yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

“Right.”

They fell back into the thick silence of before. 

A sound from the foyer woke them up from the trance that they were in. Both heads snapped towards the door.

“Adrien,” Nathalie announced. 

“Yeah. I think we should leave him be.” 

Nathalie looked at him with a questioning frown but complied and sat back down. 

“Why did you do it, Gabriel.”

“Because I wasn’t happy, neither was Adrien. It’s as simple as that.”

“Simple?” Nathalie asked. There was a slight edge to her voice, but she quickly reigned it in.

“Nathalie, when I wished for Emilie back you were the cost. You were the price I had to pay for making the wish. You replaced her.” 

Nathalie inhaled sharply. She knew this would happen. She had been ready for it. She was willing to die for Gabriel, but actually hearing that she very well did was like a stab in the heart.

“Our relationship wasn’t healthy after she learned about you. She was… jealous,” Nathalie raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued, “Then I told Adrien that I was,” he lowered his voice, “Hawkmoth. Adrien ran away, he needed time to clear his head, but she got mad. She said that I had no right to tell him without consulting her first. After that, she and I started arguing about little things. It was harder and harder to be in the same room together without something coming up, so we both agreed that it was best to… divorce.” 

Nathalie didn’t know what to say. She just sat there dumfounded. Gabriel loved Emilie to the core, she thought, but because of her, they broke up. Even half-dead she had managed to push them apart and she hated herself for it. 

“I’m sorry.”

Gabriel shook his head, “No, no. It’s not your fault. After the divorce, I realised I was no better off than I was before the wish, at least then, now, I have you,” Nathalie looked up at him. 

He would have to tread slowly, these were uncharted waters he was swimming in. He didn’t know how Nathalie would react if he just straight up told her that it was because he loved her. 

“So I made the wish. And Nathalie, I wouldn’t change a thing. You were right. I was blind. I didn’t need Emilie, that ship had sailed, I needed to move on,” Gabriel paused, “I think I need to tell Adrien. We need to tell Adrien.”

Her eyebrows shot up, “About Hawkmoth and…”

Gabriel nodded simply.

“But he ran away, I mean, in the future.”

“Yes, and it won’t make a difference in the present time, his reaction will still be the same, but I know what I’m doing, I’ve done it before,” Nathalie looked unconvinced, “Whatever Adrien’s reaction is, he needs to know. We can’t keep any more secrets in this family. It’s what tore us apart.”

Nathalie nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re dating aren’t you,” Adrien blurted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to carola_tavs who has been with me throughout this whole fic series! You're amazing!

Adrien sat in front of Nathalie and Gabriel, anxiously fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

“Adrien,” Gabriel said cooly, “This may be hard for you to comprehend, but it is important that you listen to what I have to say. Clear?”

Adrien looked up at his father, then to Nathalie, both managed to apply a sternness to their face, but still look calm.

“You’re dating aren’t you,” Adrien blurted.

Gabriel blinked. Nathalie twitched. Adrien bit down hard on his tongue.

“No.”

“Oh,” Adrien was a bit disappointed. Honestly, he was down with the ship. They were the perfect match and he would be fine with Nathalie as a mother. On the other hand, this meant that something else was wrong. All the times he had snuck out or evaded his bodyguard or fooled around in a photoshoot quickly flashed before his eyes. 

“When I received the miraculous,” Adrien visibly tensed. His whole body went rigid, “I wished for your mother back,” Gabriel slowed down, trying to articulate every word so that his son understood, “At first everything was fine, but I lost Nathalie when I made the wish,” Adrien looked up at the very much alive Nathalie standing before him and frowned, “I told you that I was Hawkmoth and you… decided that you needed some time on your own to think about it, so, I believe you went to Ms. Dupain Cheng’s house,” Adrien opened his mouth to question, but Gabriel held his hand up to silence him, “After hearing that you had left, my relationship with your mother went south and we decided it was better for all of us if we split.”

Adrien was becoming increasingly stressed. He clenched onto the chair he was sitting in tightly, as to keep himself from punching his father in the face. 

“I had lost everything, Adrien. So, you and I decided that it was best to bring Nathalie back,” Adrien pointed to himself and mouthed ‘me’ at Nathalie, who just nodded. Gabriel, ignoring the silent exchange continued, “Long story short, I’m from the future, so technically none of that happened. The wish took me back in time to when everything was ‘normal’.”

Adrien didn’t know what to say. What the hell were you supposed to say to your father when you had just learned that he was the man you had been fighting for two years and that he was from the bloody future? 

“You’re taking this surprisingly well. Last time I told you, you shouted at me and told me never to call you an Agreste again.” Gabriel said slightly amused, but grateful at his son’s reaction.

“So, I came back?” 

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Gabriel glanced at Nathalie. She nodded and left the room. On her way out she placed her hand on Adrien’s shoulder and squeezed. After waiting for the door to close Gabriel spoke again.

“When I told you I was Hawkmoth I also told you about my feelings for Nathalie,” if Adrien was a bunny his ears would have stood straight upon his head, “Before you left I asked you to choose. Nathalie or Emilie.”

“How could you do that?” Adrien asked outraged by his father.

“I know. But, I couldn’t do anything about it, Adrien. You have to understand, I wanted to mend our family, I wanted to make it whole again, but I never realised-” 

“That’s the thing, isn’t it? You never realise. You didn’t realise that you were pushing me away. You didn’t realise that you were locking me up in this house. You didn’t realise that I was lonely.”

He had prepared himself for what Adrien would say, but it still hurt all the same.

“Yes, I see that now. I want you to spend some time with the Dupain Cheng’s. I think you need to be away from me for a while. They’ll probably stuff you with pastries and throw your model diet down the drain,” Gabriel shrugged, “but I will choose to overlook that. Unless, of course, you don’t want to.”

“No, I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” Gabriel nodded and Adrien quickly left the room, giving a quick smile to Nathalie on his way out. 

“So, he took it well?”

“Surprisingly,” Gabriel said fingers typing in Tom’s number.

“I’ve already called to notify them of Adrien’s arrival.”

“Ah. Of course. Thank you.”

“You're welcome, sir.” Gabriel laughed, surprising Nathalie.

“I think, we’ve been through enough Nathalie that you can call me Gabriel,” Nathalie was silent.

“Only in private?” Gabriel smirked.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

The conversation between them was getting awkward. 

Sensing the discomfort Nathalie excused herself, “I have work sir,” Gabriel nodded and she left. 

Flirting wasn’t exactly his forte, but what the heck he was willing to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Adrien definitely took that well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had decided to ask her out for dinner. A sensible option. Nathalie was a sensible woman.

She noticed her hands shaking only after she made a spelling mistake. Nathalie Sancoeur making spelling mistakes was unheard of. She had written ‘prestihious’ instead of prestigious in an email when her finger slipped on the keys and pressed the ‘h’ instead. A light squiggly red line appeared under the word and she had to do a double-take. She quickly double-clicked the word and pressed the correct spelling in the little toolbar that had popped up and continued typing. It wasn’t long before her finger slipped once again that she realised something was wrong. 

Lifting her hands from the keyboard she assessed them. They were shaking violently and she couldn’t stop them unless she placed them down hard on a surface. Frowning she continued typing, making sure to be extra careful and triple check her work. 

She felt a cough bubble up in her throat. She couldn’t start coughing, not now. Gabriel currently thought that she was getting better, that’s what she wanted him to think. Honestly, she wasn’t feeling any better she was feeling worse. Maybe she was just too far gone.

She slipped a few tissues out from a box that was on her desk and held it up to her mouth. Her body was assaulted with pain from every jolt that the coughs caused. She pulled the tissue from her mouth and gasped. Blood soaked the paper, she could taste it in her mouth, it made her throat feel raw like someone had stuffed some steel wool down her throat and scrubbed. 

She rushed from the room and headed for the bathroom. Hopefully, he hadn’t heard her bout of coughing.

##########

He stared at the flowers that he had lying on his desk. The bouquet consisted of white roses, blue orchids and peacock feathers. It was truly beautiful if he did say so himself. The orchids were white in the centre fading into a purple, fading into a dark blue. The white roses were a nice contrast and the peacock feathers obviously had their own symbolism. 

He had decided to ask her out for dinner. A sensible option. Nathalie was a sensible woman. 

With a sigh he gathered up is nerves and locked the stray ends away, deep in his chest. He snatched up the flowers and exited his office.

Nathalie wasn’t at her desk. He actually breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he was disappointed that he had worked up the courage and couldn’t use it. Gabriel walked over to her desk and sat down in her black leather reclining office chair. It was still warm, so she had only just left.

His eyes scanned her desk. It was white, ‘u’ shaped, solid desk. In true Nathalie fashion, it was immaculate. Not a stray paper or pen lay on her desk. He saw a dark red blot just past her keyboard. Blood. He spotted some blood-soaked tissues that had been chucked in the bin under her desk. That was a lot of blood. 

“Sir,” he glanced up at her. She looked tired, deep bags had formed under her eyes and she had recently scrubbed her face clean of makeup, so they were all the more prominent. 

“Nathalie,” he gave her a stern look, “Why didn’t you tell me.” 

“Because I didn’t need you worrying about me.”

“Really?” he quirked an eyebrow. 

She sighed loudly and shooed him away. He smirked and produced the flowers from behind his back. Her eyes widened. 

“Gabriel, you didn’t have to-”

“Yes, I did. I was wondering,” he rubbed the back of his neck feeling slightly flustered, “if you would like to go out with me to dinner?”

A soft smile broke into her normal professional poise, “I’d love too.”

“Great. Cool. Um, I’ll pick you up from your apartment at 7:00.”

“I’ll still be here.”

His cheeks went slightly red, “Then I’ll dismiss you early.” 

Waving him back to his office she sat back down at her desk, admiring Gabriel’s choice in flowers. For the first time in a while, she really smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, into the fluff
> 
> The bouquet that Gabriel gave Nathalie:
> 
> https://media-api.xogrp.com/images/1eb6c341-0fee-4b40-9175-8f61d4e3a4cd~rs_2560.h


	5. Chapter 5

She stared at her closet. Honestly, all of her clothes were shit. The one dress that she thought was decent looked too casual for Gabriel Agreste, Europe’s biggest fashion designer. It would have to do. The dress was a royal blue, v neck. Nothing really stood out about it, at least to a fashion designer, but she had liked it when she had seen it in the shop. She hardly ever treated herself. This was one of the exceptions. 

With a sigh, she unhooked the dress from its hanger and held it up against herself in front of the mirror. It wasn’t ‘fashion designer wear’, but it was ‘Nathalie wear’ so what the heck?

##########

Gabriel was at her door sharp at 7:00. He had swapped his routine beige suit and red tie for something more formal. It was a grey three-piece, leopard print with matching bowtie. His design of course. He hoped Nathalie would like it. 

Being so stoic all of the time never really exposed what he felt inside. A man like him who had fed on others feelings was now feeling so many of his own. He was scared, embarrassed, anxious, self-critical and confused. Confused as to why he was feeling all of these things. Nathalie was his assistant. He had told her that he had loved her in another reality. They had been working together for years, but still, he felt as though he was about to jump off a cliff. He took a shaky breath and knocked. 

As though she had been waiting on the other side of the door, Nathalie opened it instantly. 

“Hi.”

She looked beautiful. Her hair was down and her normal professional stance had dropped. The dress itself was simple, plain blue, but the way she carried it off was amazing. She was able to wear the dress like a model, with poise only someone experienced could. Honestly, he didn’t care about the dress. She looked beautiful. 

He must have stayed quiet for too long, “I know,” she pointed at her dress, “I don’t really own anything more extravagant and I couldn’t go last minute shopping-”

“No, you’re beautiful.”

“I-thank you,” he thought it was cute the way she blushed slightly. 

“So,” he gestured to the car, “after you.”

##########

“He’s an idiot,” Adrien said, still chewing on a mouth full of croissant, “these are delicious by the way.”

Marinette nodded and smiled, “Yeah, but he cares about you,” she took a croissant for herself.

The had bunkered up in her room and were currently playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III, both of them making the controllers greasy with their croissant fingers. 

“Yeah,” Marinette’s character kicked Adrien’s in the face, taking off a chunk of it’s health, “Hey!” she giggled, “but for so long he’s been ignoring me and only now he’s decided that ‘hey, now that Adrien’s a bloody superhero he’s good enough all of a sudden’.”

“Adrien, you know that’s not true. Your father loves you, no matter what-ow!” 

“Ha, revenge is sweet!” 

“Shut up kitty.”

Adrien laughed, but at the back of his mind, he knew that he was lying to her. How could he give his father’s identity away though? 

##########

“So, how are you,” Nathalie glanced up from her menu and gave him a you-know-me-already look, “I mean how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine-” Gabriel quirked his eyebrow, “you don’t need to worry about me,” he didn't buy it, sighing she admitted, “shit.”

“I thought so.”

“Monsieur, Madame, what can I get you today?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sweet fluff.
> 
> These are the clothes that Gabe and Nat are wearing:
> 
> Nathalie: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/55/e8/b7/55e8b707e7be1558a54e8c9f71f7bc69.jpg
> 
> Gabriel: https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/tcsonline-live/catalog/product/cache/afad95d7734d2fa6d0a8ba78597182b7/4/1/41261_1.jpg


	6. Chapter 6

Nathalie looked down at her menu, quickly trying to decide what to eat. Gabriel saw her discomfort and swooped in, “I recommend the salmon with a Pinot Noir.”

Nathalie nodded, “Well then, I shall have that.”

“Coco van please, um and for my drink… surprise me.”

“Of course Monsieur.”

##########

“How did your parents take it?”

They were looking through her countless designs. Adrien found each and every one of them to be as extravagant as the first. As a model, he had experience with fashion, even if he wasn’t the designer.

“Well enough. At first, they were worried, but you know, Dad thought it was the coolest thing on earth.”

“Nice.” 

They fell into silence. Marinette looked over at him with a concerned look in her eyes, “how did your dad take it?”

“You know him. He was worried. I understand that now, but he wanted to take my miraculous off me. I couldn’t do that. I had a duty to serve Paris and keep it safe, now…”

“Oh kitty, we’re just lucky Hawkmoth hasn’t gone and done anything bad with the miraculous, at least not yet.”

“You have no idea,” Adrien mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Uh, nothing, I just love this dress!”

##########

Nathalie had fallen asleep and her head now rested on his lap. She looked so peaceful, so even when they stopped he hesitated to wake her. 

“Nathalie?” he brushed a strand of her hair from her face.

She stirred slightly, “Hmm?”

“We’ve arrived at your apartment.”

“Oh, right,” her lips were tight, she looked almost disappointed that they were already here.

“You fell asleep during the ride back.”

“Ah.”

Gabriel swallowed, “Are you okay Nat?”

She nodded and shot him a tense smile before letting herself out of the car. How she wished she could spend more time with him. She could only hope this wasn’t a one-night thing. An apology for dragging her into a plan and then jeopardising it as soon as it was achieved.

“Goodnight Gabriel. I had a great time.”

“Nathalie?” he followed her to her door. Genuine concern etched in the lines of his face.

She couldn’t help herself, she flung her arms around him and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. He kissed her back. When they finally pulled away they still held each other closely.

“Goodnight Nat.”

“Night Gabe.”

He placed a quick kiss on her forehead and went to his car. Offering a wave he slipped inside, a permanent smile plastered on his face. The kiss still lingering upon his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this yesterday, so that's why it's up so early!


	7. Chapter 7

“Morning Nat.”

Nathalie looked in confusion at the sight before her. Ladders and other materials were scattered on the floor behind his pedestal, cluttering the normally pristine area. There were six men altogether, each had their grubby hands all over Emilie’s portrait. Gabriel didn’t seem at all fazed by what was going on, in fact, he seemed rather calm about the sight before him, happy even. 

“Gabriel?”

“I told you I had moved on. I thought there was no need for a massive portrait of Emilie sitting in my atelier.”

She smiled. He cared so much about her. He was willing to completely erase Emilie from his life for her.

“What are you going to replace it with?”

“Well, I was thinking… I have a picture of Adrien you and I that I thought would be fitting, if you know what I mean,” Gabriel’s cheeks went rosy and he dropped his gaze.

“I think that would be great Gabe.”

“Perfect, I’ll get it commissioned then.”

##########

They had been dating for a good month so far, Adrien had gotten used to it, but it was still weird when Nathalie called his father Gabe instead of sir. He still hadn’t gotten used to that, but it would come. 

The one thing that he loved about this welcome change was that Nathalie had completely transformed Gabriel. He now spent more and more time with Adrien. They took breakfast, lunch and dinner together, Gabriel helped him with his homework. He was allowed to invite his friends over whenever he wanted. 

He had introduced Marinette to his father and Gabriel had taken an immediate shine to her. Now Marinette was coming over regularly and working with Gabriel on various designs. She was expected to help him with his new collection soon. Adrien was always happy to model her designs and give her his opinion before she showed them off to his father. 

Nathalie was still Gabriel’s assistant, but of course, her professionalism had dropped a little. Gabriel had told her that she could retire at any time, but she vouched to stay, saying that if she didn’t work she’d go mad. Still definitely a workaholic.

They were a family. Nathalie, Gabriel, Marinette and Adrien and nothing could be better.

She’d tried to hide it, but how could you hide anything from Gabriel? She was getting worse. It was supposed to get better. She hadn’t picked up Mayura since that fateful day and that was months ago. It had only gotten worse. She’d been coughing up more and more blood, regularly too. Gabriel had noticed the first time and since then she had tried to hide it from him, but she was dating the man, how could she hide anything? 

He’d only worry. Nothing good would come of that. She preferred to ignore the pain and try not to think about it was doing to her on the inside. But oh how it hurt! The pain was striking. Sometimes she didn’t even feel the pain, she just knew it was there. It was tearing her up from the inside out. 

“Darling, are you okay?”

“Hmm, uh, yeah. What was it you were saying.”

“Nat you’re on the floor,” once he had said it she realised. She wasn’t sure she would have noticed if he hadn’t said, “You collapsed. Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I think.”

His concern was adamant upon his face.

“I’m fine, Gabe,” she placed a kiss on his nose and let him help her up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> carola_tavs, this is for you...
> 
> I don't think you'll like it.

Gabriel gritted his teeth, “You. Are. Not. Okay.”

She pursed her lips and gave him a firm glare, “Stop worrying Gabe.”

“No. You were supposed to get better. You haven’t used the peacock miraculous in so long, how could you be getting worse?” Gabriel frowned, she could see the cogs turning in his head, “Unless you have been using it?” he looked accusingly at her, but she only rolled her eyes and walked over to him. At least… she tried to. 

The doubled over and started coughing horrendously, the coughs were literally forced out of her throat, as though someone was deliberately gagging her. Gabriel's strong arms wrapped around her waist and prevented her from falling. He was the only thing that was keeping her up. She held onto him hard, feeling her consciousness slowly slipping away from her. 

“Nat! Nathalie! Nat…” she was cold, too cold, “Nat, no. 

##########

The nurse walked steadily forward through the corridors of the hospital. The burning lights above him glared down at him as if they were judging his every move. The place was buzzing, full of life… and death. Doctors and nurses in white uniforms that blended in perfectly with the theme of the building passed him; offering their empty smiles before running off to gossip about him. Patient’s young and old, visitors young and old were either pushed or walked past him. So many people crowded this place and yet he still felt so alone.

The nurse, Barbra he had observed, rounded the corner and stopped at one of the many doors that lined the corridor. It looked like all the others, but he knew that it wasn’t. With a quick flick of her wrist, Barbra knocked but didn't wait for a reply before entering and ushering him in. 

The room was white. Clean. Sterile. White. Nothing more, nothing less. 

He loathed it.

Everything in this bloody place was white. The lights, bright white, hurt his eyes if he even glanced at them. The hallways, the walls white, condescending and oppressing. The uniforms, all neat and tidy until they had red on them.

Ever since the wish he tolerated the colour, it went from sleek and stylish in his designer eyes to painful.

There was only so much one could tolerate. 

“Nathalie!”

He rushed over to her side, pulling up one of the chairs that were positioned next to the bed. He took her hand in his, it was cold, oddly cold, but clammy at the same time. She smiled warmly at him and he returned the favour with a grin of his own.

Machines filled every inch of the room, wires spilt from the bellies of the computers and plugged into other machines. Other wires that didn’t belong inside a programmed piece of technology were inserted into Nathalie, pumping who knows what into her.

“Hey, how are you?” she looked exhausted. She didn’t seem to have the energy to reply to him at the moment so he just carried on, “Adrien’s worried sick. He misses you. I-I miss you too. Now you’re here and,” he choked up, “it's all my fault.”

All of a sudden Nathalie clenched. Her whole body seized up, she seemed to buckle. Her eyes were wide and pleading when he made eye contact. 

“NATHALIE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... 
> 
> Please don't kill me, I'm not done yet!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys...

Beep, beep, beep.

Doctors and nurses immediately flooded the room. All shouting out something or another to whoever was listening.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING?”

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Through the chaos, he heard one of the doctors shout loudly, “She’s not breathing, we need to get oxygen into her lungs!” 

Gabriel took one of the nurses by her shoulders and shook her hard, “What do you mean, not breathing?” 

“I’m sorry sir, but we’re trying our best. Could you please-”

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

He was already at Nathalie's side before the nurse could finish her sentence. 

“Nathalie, Darling, I need you to breathe for me.”

The beeping from the electrocardiogram was quickly picking up in pace.

“Nathalie breathe.”

He took a quick glance at the machine, but the spiky lines meant nothing to him, nor did the numbers. For the love of God, he was a designer! He didn’t study in medical school!

“Breathe, breathe, come on Nat.”

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

“Oh god, Nathalie. Please, please,” he felt tears stinging his eyes. He made a lacklustre attempt to wipe them away, but they streamed down his face, “Nat, please. Please, breathe for me, darling.”

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

The world around him was spinning, people were shouting, the room was crowded, people were trying to pull him away, but everything was a blur. 

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

“Nat, I can’t lose you. Please, not again, I can’t- Nathalie,” he was begging her, but she probably couldn't hear him, “Nathalie.”

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

“Nathalie, breathe, come on, please,” he put his hands on her face in a desperate attempt to reach her, “Nat, listen to me, you need to breathe.”

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

“Nat-”

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

“She’s gone,” one of the doctors said, but he barely heard him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, I'm pretty sure I'm dead.


	10. Chapter 10

“No, no, no.”

His head was in his hands, his glasses fogging up with the hot tears that spilt from his eyes. He felt a hand on his back, a doctor trying to comfort him, but he just shrugged the person off. 

At some point the countless doctors and nurses that had flooded the room just before had disappeared leaving him alone with Nathalie. His breath was getting caught up in his throat like a hand clamped tightly around it. He felt like he needed to vomit, to push all the sadness and guilt out of his body, even if by force.

How could this happen? After everything.

His muscles tensed, just like Nathalie’s had, but this time out of rage. He tried so hard, so hard to make things right, it just wasn’t fair. A man like him, he was trying to do good, he was trying to be happy again. Was that too much to ask? Couldn’t life give him something good for once… oh, right, he forgot, life isn’t fair. Life is never fair. 

When he was small he was told to dream. He was twelve when he realised that dreams were worthless. They never came true, they were empty hope. Life always had a different plan. He was lucky enough to have become a designer and a good one too. He had never told Adrien to dream, he didn’t want him to expect something out of life that would never happen. He hoped that Adrien found a way, not to dream, but to plan. To plan a life, accounting for all the twists and obstacles that stood in his way. 

Once you saw the true meaning to life it wasn’t something to enjoy, not something to look forward to. He never had found any value to life, until Adrien and Nathalie. Now Nathalie was gone. His life was gone.

Beep, beep, beep.

The sudden sound made him jump. the electrocardiogram was beeping rhythmically, the flat line having suddenly spiked. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a doctor walk in, staring at the monitor blankly for a moment or two before shouting out to someone else by the name of Kyle, both doctors rushed into the room. 

Nathalie, she was alive! His breath got hitched in his throat momentarily before he forced himself to let out a sigh of relief. Nathalie’s chest rose no fell steadily, though her eyes remained shut.

Again the room was crowded with people, none paying much heed to him unless he was in their way. 

A doctor took Nathalie’s hand and checked her pulse, Gabriel thought it was hardly necessary, the machine confirmed it all. She frowned, his face filled with confusion. She beckoned over another woman who checked her Nathalie’s pulse with an equal look of confusion on her face. 

“What is it? What’s wrong?” 

The doctors looked at him closely, the confusion never leaving their face, “Sir, we can’t… feel her pulse.”

His hand enclosed over hers, feeling for a heartbeat, but there was none, “Is there something wrong with the machine?” 

A doctor to his side confirmed that there was no problem and that the machine was working perfectly. 

“I don’t understand?”

“Neither do we sir, but she’s breathing, that’s a good sign.” 

“Yes,” honestly he couldn't care less, they were probably reading her incorrectly, as long as she was breathing, he was happy.


	11. Chapter 11

“Gabe?” 

Gabriel lay next to her fast asleep, his arms wrapped tightly around her as though he was scared to let her go. She tried to move, but he was holding too tightly. 

“Gabriel,” she nudged him with her elbow, but he only groaned softly, not moving an inch. 

She sighed. She really didn’t remember what had happened. They had been in his office and she had… collapsed? The last thing he had remembered was feeling Gabriel’s strong arms around her waist. She had woken up to see him looking over her. He had been saying something, but she had felt as though she was hearing him through water. Then she was gone, she had felt so much pain vibrantly pulsing through her body. Now she was awake, Gabriel still right next to her. 

She wondered how much sleep the man actually had gotten the whole time. Nathalie had no idea when she had gone under, but Gabriel obviously hadn’t slept in a good while. 

“Mother!” 

Before she had even turned the younger Agreste had wrapped his arms around her. A soft smile crept up on her as she stroked the boy’s soft hair. 

“Hey, Adrien. Um, since when did you start calling me Mother?”

Adrien looked up at Nathalie who he had newly christened ‘Mother’, “Uh, just now?” he smiled sheepishly and shrugged. 

“Well, then, can you help me get your Father of me?”

Once Nathalie was free Adrien helped her out of bed. She was still shaky on her feet, but all around she felt much better. Her mind was clear and she felt free of the restraints that had held her back since she had first put on the peacock brooch. 

##########

“Nathalie?!” His eyes frantically searched the room for her. Swinging his legs off the bed he clambered out of the room, not caring if the staff found him in his pyjamas or not. 

Where could she have gone? She could hardly stand, she couldn’t walk.

He looked through every room he passed, Adrien’s, the guest bedroom, the kitchen where he received a perplexed look from the chef; he finally fell into the dining room to find Adrien and Nathalie calmly talking to each other. 

“Gabriel, are you okay,” she tried to stand but thought better of it and sat back down, letting Gabriel come to her.

“Are you okay?” he countered.

“Of course, you were the one who was holding me for dear life.” 

“Morning Father!” Adrien butted in, trying to cool the tense atmosphere. Gabriel nodded at his son in silent thanks for helping Nathalie. Adrien nodded back.

“Maybe I should go change.”

“Maybe you should,” Nathalie smirked. Gabriel rolled his eyes at her and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adrien stick his tongue out in mock disgust. Gabriel winked at the younger Agreste and kissed Nathalie on the lips earning himself a ‘bleh’ sound from his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically I watched Agents of Sheild season 4 episode 3 recently and they did something that I thought would be a great theory to play around with. Basically they kill a person (Melinda May [If you know what I'm talking about]) and shock them back to life so that ultimately the person survives. Basically think of the brain as a computer, when a computer has a problem then the 'quick fix' solution is to power it off and then back on again, so I decided to kill Nathalie and 'reboot' her brain.
> 
> 'Great' you say, 'but what about the part that she doesn't have a bloody pulse?' Well... you're going to have to find out!


	12. Chapter 12

“Yes, of course… Mr. Agreste is currently busy, but-... I will try to schedule an appointment for you… You’re very welcome sir… Have a nice day,” she sighed. 

Just a couple of days ago she had been feeling great, not a worry in the world, but recently she had felt sick down to the core. She had been told that she was breathing, but her heart hadn’t been beating. It felt weird not to have the rhythmic pulsing of your heart in your body, but she didn’t mind too much, she was well and she was happy. Now she was very aware of the emptiness it brought. She was alive… but not. It had something to do with the miraculous, of that she was sure. It had caused her grief right from the start and was continuing to do so.

“Gabe?” 

“Mmm?” 

She sat on the edge of his desk and waited for him to finish his email before speaking again, “I don’t really feel well.”

Gabriel’s concerned expression had been locked away for a while since she had been fine, but now it was ever-present on his face, “What’s wrong? Your heart?” she nodded, “We need to go see the-”

“No Gabriel, I refuse to. Adrien was tolerant, but the Guardian won’t be.”

“Nathalie, if this is something that will ail you for the rest of your life then we might as well. It could just be a simple fix,” Gabriel offered, his position in this argument strong.

“I’m not taking that risk Gabe,” she flicked him a stern look. 

Gabriel pushed up from his seat and came to stand before her, “I’m not taking the risk of you dying,” Nathalie frowned and occupied herself with tidying his desk, “Plus Adrien will come with us. The Guardian trusts Adrien’s judgement, he has to trust us,” he caught her hands in his and forced her to look up at him, “Nathalie, please.”

She sighed but acceded without further complaint. 

##########

“Master Fu.”

“Adrien, what a surprise,” the old man hadn’t changed a bit. 

Though his thoughts were preoccupied with the four missing miraculous he was relieved that Hawkmoth hadn’t done anything horrible with the ring and earrings. Of course, the prospect that he could do anything at any time still haunted him and the citizens of Paris. They were all on the edge of a deep chasm and Hawkmoth was the one who decided if they would live or die.

“You’ve brought… friends,” Fu quirked an eyebrow at the ex Chat Noir.

Adrien shrugged, “This is my father, Gabriel Agreste and my mother, Nathalie Sancouer.”

“Master Fu,” said the former, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Gabriel stuck his hand out and Master Fu gingerly shook it. His eyes widened when he felt something in the palm of Gabriel’s hand. He knew immediately what each object was: the butterfly miraculous and the peacock miraculous. 

“Where did you… you’re,” Fu paused glancing at Adrien, who nodded his approval, “Hawkmoth,” he breathed.

Gabriel nodded as if it was the most normal thing in the world, “Yes, and Nathalie was my accomplice, Mayura.”

Nathalie came forward and shook Fu’s hand, “I’m honoured.”

The Guardian backed away slowly, “Why are you here, what do you want?” 

“We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, Fu can help...


	13. Chapter 13

“Yes, the miraculous is damaged as you said,” Fu confirmed.

The mood had quickly calmed once Adrien had explained. Gabriel had been right, Fu trusted Adrien and therefore trusted them. 

A pot of steaming hot green tea sat in front of them on a small oak coffee table. Adrien, Nathalie and Gabriel were huddled together on a rather small but plump couch staring at the old man that kneeled before the table. 

“How did this happen,” he queried, his voice raspy from age.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Gabriel said curtly, but without his typical coldness. 

To Adrien’s surprise, Gabriel had softened towards the man more easily than he would have first thought. His father was, admittedly, a cold man, he would prefer the word stoic, but all the same, he was emotionless and kept to himself, until Nathalie. 

“Well, it’s hard to determine… Wayzz?” the green flying mochi god took his place next to his master. His tiny eyes quickly scanned over the object in Fu’s palm.

“I’d say it has been cripled by magical fire,” he proclaimed as if the miraculous was human. His tiny voice sounded remarkably British.

“Ah, that would explain Mrs. Agreste’s breathing problems; coughing, due to smoke.”

Nathlie’s eyes shot up at Mrs. Agreste, “No, I’m not-” she felt Gabriel’s hand on hers and she snapped her mouth shut. 

Master Fu got the message, “I am sorry. Adrien called you mother and I assumed that you were married to Mr. Agreste. My mistake,” he acknowledged, “As I was saying you are experiencing the same symptoms as the miraculous experienced damage… but you look fine?” 

“Initially I made the wish to bring my ex-wife back, but Nathalie had to pay the price,” the Guardian nodded throughout, knowing of the consequences that come with the wish, “Then I wished for everything to return to ‘normal’. Basically I’m from the future, however Nathalie was still experiencing the effects of the miraculous and she…”

“I died,” Fu raised an eyebrow at the woman, “I died, but only for a few minutes. I don’t know how or why, but the heart monitor detected a pulse, though I don’t have one.”

“So your heart doesn’t beat, but you are still alive,” Fu said.

“How very peculiar,” proclaimed Wayzz, especially enunciating the ‘peculiar’.

“Yes Wayzz, I agree,” both kwami and master looked at Nathalie with a curious look on their faces. 

Silence hung in the air for a while and Nathalie shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, “Uh, can you do anything to help?” she peeped. They stayed silent.

“Master Fu?” Adrien asked.

“OF COURSE!” they all jumped at the Master’s sudden outcry, “Wayzz,” the kwami nodded and flew off towards the depths of the flat. 

He emerged with a heavy book in his hands and another light blue kwami by his side. He was surprisingly strong for a being of his size, the book being ten or twenty times larger than him. The kwami flew right up to Nathalie.

“So sorry about this,” before Nathalie could even think he swung the book back and hit her, hard, on the head. 

The last thing she saw was a little green blob hovering in front of her face.


	14. Chapter 14

“WHAT THE HELL?” he shouted, outraged as an unconscious Nathalie fell into Gabriel’s arms.

“Master?” said an equally confused slightly less enraged Adrien. 

“It’s simple,” Fu said, ignoring the you’re-dead look Gabriel was giving him, “this here is Fizz, the lightning kwami,” he gestured towards the small blue kwami that had followed Wayzz in. 

The kwami resembled a blue wolf. She was strangely translucent and every so often a small spark of electricity zapped through her, though she didn’t seem affected in the least.

“My pleasure!” she squeaked. Her self control resembled Nooroo and Wayzz’s, but Gabriel could tell there was just a touch of Dusuu in her. A lively personality that she was trying to settle.

“Think of a defibrillator. It uses electricity to jump-start the heart, right?” Adrien opened his mouth to answer, but it seemed the question was rhetorical, “Of course they probably thought using a defibrillator on an already alive person was too dangerous. It wouldn’t have worked anyway, it probably would have killed her. However magical electricity is different. If Fizz zaps Nathalie with a jolt of electricity from her body it will most likely jump-start her heart again.”

Gabriel caught on the to his word usage, “Most likely?”

“Well, there is a small chance she’ll never wake up,” Gabriel moved to carry out the threat of killing him from before, but Fu quickly added, “if you don’t take the risk, Mr. Agreste, slowly her body will start shutting down and you’ll be back to square one.”

Gabriel looked down at Nathalie who was lying peacefully in his arms save for a red welt that was now on her forehead. If he took this risk there was the chance that he’d lose her forever. He had the wish of course, but that would do nothing. There was always a consequence and he feared the next repercussion would be Adrien’s life. If he waited it out she would die anyway, slowly and painfully. This way she wouldn’t, shouldn’t feel a thing. If she passed she would pass peacefully. Then there was the chance that she’d survive and be fixed for good. He was betting on that chance.

He nodded, “Very well, do what you must.”

##########

Nathalie was lying on the mat in the middle of Fu’s apartment. She still hadn’t stirred but was breathing steadily. The small man stood before her, the little blue kwami perched on his shoulder. 

Gabriel noted that Fizz would visibly spark more when she was getting excited, now was one of those times apparently. A big grin was plastered on the being’s face, it had been a while since she had used her powers and she was most definitely excited. 

Fu saw the kwami’s excitement, “Fizz, we aren’t trying to power a whole city, we are only trying to save someone’s life. Keep it to a maximum of 1000 volts, please.” 

Fizz’s smile wavered slightly, but she quickly regained herself and the evil smile stayed. Gabriel wasn’t sure if he could trust this kwami, but she was his best bet. 

“Stand back!” the mischievousness Gabriel had seen before came out in her tone.

He looked from the kwami to Nathalie and back. He was an atheist, but he silently prayed to whoever was listening to save her. 

Everyone including Wayzz took a large step back, Adrien taking refuge behind Gabriel. Fizz immediately started to crackle with electricity. The sound filled the room, starting off as a soft buzz then becoming a loud continuous rumble, as though lightning was about to strike right where they were standing. Fizz’s eyes went and electric blue. A small ball of energy consumed her and she disappeared from view. 

BANG.

They were sent flying by an invisible force. Adrien flew into a couch landing with a muffled thud, then ricocheting to the ground. Fu was caught by his kwami who seemed to be the only one unaffected by this. Wayzz placed his master gently on the ground. Gabriel, however, was sent straight into the wall. Knocking the air out of his lungs as he fell limply to the ground. 

“Nathalie?” Adrien slowly approached her, gingerly placing his hand upon her arm. He flinched as a little shock of static flew up his arm, “Mother?”

“Hmm?” Adrien’s eyes lit up and he embraced Nathalie tightly ignoring the static shocks he was receiving. 

“Mr. Agreste?” Fu hurried over to Gabriel. His body was unmoving except for the soft rise and fall of his chest, “Gabriel?” Gabriel inhaled sharply and jolted forward colliding with the Guardian. 

“Ahh,” both men shouted in anguish.

Adrien however only gave them a glance before turning his attention back to Nathalie. He turned her wrist over in his hand and felt for a vein. Adrien felt a slow pulsing underneath his thumb. A grin emerged on his face and he held Nathalie tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raijū is a Japenese mythical creature. It takes the form of a wolf surrounded by lightning, but can also be depicted as a cat, weasel or fox. Fizz is built upon that concept. 
> 
> Raijū (Obviously not my drawing, I am nowhere near that talented): https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/012/366/333/large/anthony-christou-raiju171920web.jpg?1534423987


	15. Chapter 15

She was organising some of the countless papers he had on his desk when she came across a certain design, unlike his others. It was a simple ring, but intricate and breathtaking. In the centre was a medium-sized diamond held by the gold ring. The gold was carved into a peacock’s feather with a small blue diamond as the feather’s eye. 

It wasn’t like Gabriel to design jewellery. Of course, the brand had a jewellery line, but Gabriel prefered to design clothes and wouldn’t pay as much attention to detail in his designs then he had in this one. He left it down to the jewellers to make it more elaborate than he had and really sell the piece. This design, however, was well thought out, even for a ring. He had taken his time, colouring it, labelling it and even writing specific notes and measurements next to the design. 

“Do you like it?” she felt two arms wrap around her waist and his head on her shoulder. 

“It’s beautiful Gabriel!” she breathed. 

He reached down and turned the paper over. In his elegant, tall handwriting the words ‘Will You Marry Me?’ were printed on the back. Her eyes went round, she let out a small gasp and he giggled softly, seeming pleased with himself. 

She didn’t know what to say. This was everything she had ever wanted. For this man, she had died twice, maybe three times, she wasn’t sure anymore. She loved him so much that she had been willing to give up her love for him so that he could love another. Now they were together and if she said yes they would be happy.

She plucked the paper from the table and wriggled out of his grasp, “You have a meeting in,” she glanced at her watch for dramatic effect, “32 seconds Monsieur Agreste,” she said with a cheeky grin. 

He gave her a ‘come on, seriously?’ look, but then his own eyes widened as he realised she was right.

“Shit,” he mumbled underneath his breath. 

Now it was her turn to giggle as she turned and left. She tried to compose herself, but she couldn’t help but half run, half gallop to her desk. She sat down and downed the rest of her coffee. After she had placed the cup down she realised that it probably wouldn’t do anything to calm her nerves. 

Placing the design on her desk, back face up she produced a pen from one of her draws and clicked it flamboyantly. In neat print equal to the size of Gabriel’s she wrote ‘Yes’. She relished the feeling of writing each letter on the paper, observing the way the soft fibres of the paper depressed when she pressed her pen down.

She flipped it back over and looked over his notes on last time. He had written ‘Yellow gold in 18K’. It was smart, a bespoke designer like Gabriel would be expected to buy nothing less than 22K. However, they both knew that 22K was too pliable and they really didn’t give a second shit about what the press thought. It wasn’t like they were going to be able to tell if her ring was 14K or 24K by a picture unless some jewellery connoisseur happened to fancy gossip on clothing designers.

With a broad smile on her face, she crossed out the ‘yellow’ and put ‘rose’. She had always prefered the soft pinkish hue that was in the gold. It didn’t scream gold, but it didn’t quell the gold altogether.

Her heels clicked noisily on the tiled floors as she walked up to his office door. She could hear the heated conversation that was going on behind the doors and smiled. He was definitely pacing. Slowly she slid the paper underneath the door and immediately the sound of footsteps stopped. A few seconds passed before he walked over to the door, bent down and pulled it from her fingers. Moments later he was hurridly ending the call with the already frustrated customer, apologising profoundly before hanging up.

The doors swung open and before she could fully register what was happening he pulled her into a deep kiss. 

“Rose gold, huh?” he teased, pulling away from the kiss.

She rolled her eyes and kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, folks. I really hope you enjoyed it. I can't thank you enough for following this through to the end. I honestly can't believe it's over. 
> 
> Special thanks to my dedicated reader, carola_tavs. I've thanked you before, but you've been here throughout, always dropping a nice comment. I really appreciate your kind words and I hope I haven't given you too many heart attacks XD.
> 
> The ring Gabe designed for Nat: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51846366e4b0046126d42961/1548858913103-TV5FJJLM0EAKXVK56OJJ/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kEg5sT323LSgUnbbUAw0LQBZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpx1pmOXc4diE-YWacn4-ZUQ2QumOjxjNfdWGzzTpSxnzlFT0kLtcdeBF8oux7Yrxyw/Peacock+ring+by+Emily+chelsea+Jewelry+in+rose+gold.jpg?format=1500w
> 
> Shit, that's a long link...

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment and kudos! I love hearing from you guys!


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